How To Select The Right Memory Card

Now that you’ve bought that new still or video camera, you need to find the best SD memory card to fit your needs. Fortunately, choosing the right card for you only requires considering a few, straightforward factors.

What kind of card do you need?

The first of these is to identify what type(s) of SD memory cards your device requires. Devices are clearly marked with the type of card needed for that device, making the first decision an easy one.

SD cards come in varieties that are include: SD Cards, which allow for Up to 2GB of data and include the SD logo on device, also, SDHC Cards, which offer between 4GB and 32GB of data storage and feature the SDHC logo on device, and finally, SDXC Cards, featuring data space 64GB and over, which carries the SDXC logo on the device.

What does class mean?

When it comes to finding the right memory card for your device, the class of the card is also an important part of what should go into choosing a product that fits your needs. In order to better understand, it’s best to understand what a memory card class rating is and what it means in terms of performance and application.

Memory cards are available in four classes, 2, 4, 6, and 10 and each card’s class is shown on the front of the card in a partial circle and indicates the minimum writing speed in MB/second. The higher the class rating, the higher the minimum writing performance of the memory card.

Class 2 cards are able to handle H.264 video recording, MPEG-4 and MPEG-2 video recording, along with regular photography. Class 4 cards are equipped for MPEG-2 (HDTV) video recording, as well as DSC consecutive shooting. As you move up to a Class 6 unit, these are ideal for more professional Mega-pixel DSC consecutive shooting, along with professional video cameras. Finally, the Class 10 cards are designed for full-HD video recording and HD still consecutive photography.

To ensure the best performance with your device, it is recommended that you purchase a memory card with at least minimum recommended speed class as recommended by your device manufacturer.

What’s the right capacity?

Another aspect to consider when choosing the right SD memory card for your needs is the capacity of the card. The type of camera you are using will often greatly impact how much capacity is needed. If you are using a high-megapixel DSLR camera or HD video camera, you will need a much-higher capacity memory card than a typical point-and-shoot camera would require. If you are taking standard JPEG images, a small, SD card with 4 to 8GB of space will allow you to store potentially thousands of images. Once you move into taking more RAW photos you may want to upgrade to a 16GB or 32GB card, as an 8GB memory card may only allow a much lower number of these high-resolution images. If your needs are more along the lines of HD video, it is probably best to consider a 16GB or 32GB card. If you have one of the recently introduced SDXC based cameras, you’ll want to take advantage of the speed and capacity of the 64GB SDXC cards.

The type of SD card being used also influences the capacity of a memory card. While a standard SD card can allow for up to 2GB, and is adequate for only a few images on today’s multi-mexapixel cameras. Later cameras supporting the SDHC type cards, can accept 4GB to 32GB SDHC cards. The latest devices supporting SDXC can accept up to 64GB or higher memory cards.